A Neat Little App

 
D800, Nikkor 105/2.5 AI-S


I came across a neat little app called Camera Connect & Control. This app does a couple things, one it allows me to import photos directly from my D800 over USB connection (USB Micro to USB-C cable required)  which is why I got it, but it also allows control of the camera by a smartphone or tablet over the USB connection.

What this means is the phone+cable combo basically can become a flip/twist live view display with remote camera control. That solves my one big caveat about using the D800 on the tripod vs a mirrorless body. The only real downside is this capability is Android-only, the iOS version cannot use USB connections (although it can handle WiFi camera control on iOS if a supported camera has WiFi). Heck, you even get focus peaking on a D800....That's pretty sweet. Tethered only, but I can just get a 6' or longer cable for field work. As it turns out TetherTools sells a 15' cable that's ideal for this usage (complete with 90 degree connector on the camera end), although that cable is pricey, I'll probably start with a cheap Amazon cable for now.

Ironically, the app is less useful with the newer A7II, because there's no zoom feature. But I checked and of course, that's a camera limitation, not the app. It'll do everything the Sony app will do, likely more reliably, but Sony's wireless implementation is rather limited and there's nothing the app developer can do about that.

It also does photo download, which Android can't reliably do with the D800 on its own.

Honestly, the photo download bit is good enough but not awesome, I don't like the hassle of a cable compared to wireless for download, but the overall experience is definitely better than most of the wireless apps. It gives me my On The Move workflow for the D800 though, and I could use it for the A7II if I really want to, and over the wire it can do RAW files, which lets me suck stuff into Lightroom Mobile (and later sync that wirelessly to my PC)